So You Picked Up On That?
by DeuceKebabz
Summary: What if Max's powers had a small effect on Chloe after each rewind? What if Chloe figured that out? Can Chloe figure all this out just by daring Max to be 'hardcore' and kiss her? Pricefield One-Shot (Very Abstract Idea that I elaborated on.)


**So You Picked Up On That? (a Life is Strange Fan Fic Pricefield Chloe x Max)**  
 **Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or any of the game Life is Strange.**  
 **Sorry for Poor Spelling / Grammar**  
 **Note: This is 1 of 2 Fictions I've written in over 3 years, so I maybe rusty. Apology.**

Chloe was taking a gamble on Max's ability, and she knew it. Watching her friend go to the closet, Chloe knew what her next move was going to be. She was ready to risk the headache's, to risk the pain just in case Max fell into her trap. The only thing Chloe wasn't ready for, which she was betting against, was if Max turned her down; having to deal with the reality that Max and her couldn't be anything more then friends. Biting the bullet, Chloe waited until Max gazed at Rachel Amber's old clothing, before getting up to confront her friend.

"... I dare you to kiss me, " Chloe said to a very stunned Max. Chloe had her in a tough situation to find out if Chloe could tell when Max rewound time. One of those choices would make Max want to rewind time to find out what Chloe would do, which means that one way or another, Chloe would find out if she could experience an effect as proof that Max could rewind a situation. "I dare you; kiss me now."

* * *

"Okay, Mad Max, tell me," said Chloe leaning back against the seat of the dinner bench, "What do I have in my pockets?"

Max smiled sheepishly and said, "Car keys? With a bullet key chain?"

Chloe looked dumbfounded, "Wow... epic fail. Let me show you what I actually have." Chloe emptied out her pockets completely. Max shook her head, held out her right arm, and rewound time. Once she stopped, she looked at Chloe who rustled her brow before looking at her.

"Okay, Mad Max, tell me," said Chloe,again, leaning back against the seat of the dinner bench, "What do I have in my pockets?"

"Car keys with... a robot panda key chain," Max said with confidence.

Chloe rubbed her forehead and said, "Nice one. What else?"

Max rubbed her head, thought about it and said, "Um... cigarettes?"

"Duh, you know I smoke," shot Chloe at her, "How many do I have left?"

"Uh... five?" asked Max, slightly embarrassed by the fact she couldn't remember.

Chloe pulled out her cigs, counted them out in front of Max. She put them on the table and said, "Nope. Seven. Try again, Super Max."

So, Max did. She used her rewind again, back to the beginning. Max put her arm down and got prepared for Chloe's questions again, but before she asked anything, Chloe winced in pain and rubbed her forehead. It was as thoughts he was trying to rub away a spot. Max noticed this and thought it was very weird and unexpected; things aren't supposed to change once you rewind.

"Are... are you ok, Chloe?" she asked.

Chloe grunted under her breath, winced and replied, "I... just got this small headache out of no where and... it's hella hurts." Max went to reply, but Chloe shook her head to her; leaning back and asking Max the same question as before.

"Car keys with... a robot panda key chain."

"Nice one. What else?"

"Cigarettes."

"Duh, you know I smoke. How many do I have left?"

"... Seven."

"Alright, not to bad. What else?"

"... Money."

"Yeah; we all know I'm rich as fuck. How much?"

Max couldn't kick herself for having such a bad memory. She didn't even respond; she raised her arm and rewound time yet again. Once she stopped, Chloe's right hand was rubbing her brow. Concern grew in Max, not understanding fully what was going, as she reached out to her friend.

Chloe pulled away, looked at Max and said, "Damn it, I'm fine. Small headache I think."

"You still do?" asked Max before she realized the words that came out of her mouth. Chloe looked at her puzzled, but Max tried to over look it by saying, "Hopefully just stress."

"Whatever," Chloe said to her, "Anyway, tell me, Mad Max..."

Max waited before she said anything else, watching her friend rubbing her brow with her hand. _Could my power be effecting Chloe too?_ She didn't try again, Max just struggled to try and remember everything so that rewinding was out of the question for now. Little did Max know that they would be there a while. A bloody nose and a migraine later...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were at the junkyard; Max was hunting bottles while Chloe grabbed a beer to drink. A few obstacles and some empty bottles later, Max was back in front of Chloe, watching her line up bottles for shooting. She gathered herself, stood next to Max and aimed.

"Okay Max, guide me," Chloe said, arms extended and gun in hand.

"I have to see you shoot first," said Max.

Chloe took a shot and missed completely. Max used her rewind and told Chloe where to aim, but before Chloe took the shot, she winced again and shook her head. It seemed like every time Max rewound time, the wincing turned into grunting which turned into pain for Chloe.

It was worse later on, once the shooting was over with, when they ran into a guy named Frank. Max was frozen to the spot when Frank walked up and took the gun out of her hands. _That was pathetic._ Max looked over at Chloe before deciding to rewind that and see what would happen. Chloe moaned, hand over her forehead and eyes closed to the pain. Max absentmindedly pulled the trigger. There weren't any bullets left. Frank laughed, but left them alone after making an idle threat to them. Chloe looked over at Max and smiled, but Max could only focus on the pain on her friend's face.

"You okay, Super Max?" asked Chloe innocently.

Max smiled very weakly and said, "Yeah... you just look different every time I see you."

Chloe took this, initially, in regards to their five year absence, but Max's face read differently. There was concern there which warmed Chloe's heart to no end, but there was something more to this power. Chloe took some consideration for Max, her rewind ability, that remark, and her own small headaches into deep thought and kept it to herself...

~~~~~~~~~

If Chloe was in pain on the track after Max used her rewind, Max couldn't tell and Chloe couldn't care. The fear of death outweighed the fear of mild pain. Max ran around, sweating and scared, rushing to frantically help save Chloe while putting up with the sounds of a train coming closer and her friend screaming her name. _Go, Max, Go!_ Max had to save her friend, she had too!

 _Yes! Good job, Max!_ Chloe wiggled her leg free and jumped out of the way of the moving train. Max ran to her and Chloe just collapsed on her shoulder; never feeling more grateful about the reappearance of her best friend and Chloe was sure that she loved this girl...

~~~~~~~~~

The sun was setting; light on Chloe's face as she sat on the bench near the lighthouse, reading the texts from Max. Guilt and sorrow flooded her. Max tried, but couldn't use her rewind power and... she couldn't save Kate. Chloe blamed herself for fooling around so much with Max's rewind ability, but she couldn't focus on her own pity party. Kate had died... and Max needed her right now. It was the first time all day that Chloe was pain free... and this weighted heavily on her mind...

~~~~~~~~~

It was quiet as Chloe grew frustrated with the locked door. She heard Max come back into the room with junk in her hands, piecing together a door-opening-contraption. Max came over and taped a soda can of chemicals to the handle and pulled Chloe back behind a desk. They waited behind a desk together. BOOM! A sick explosion busted the door open and set off the alarms. _Shit!_ Max ran into the office and looked around frantically.

"Max!" Chloe shouted from the other room.

Max held out her arm and rewound. Suddenly, she was still inside the office; no explosive mess and the door was still closed. Chloe grunted and swore at the pain from the other side of the door when Max walked over to it. She could hear Chloe say, "This is bullshit! Fuck you, door!" before Max opened the door.

Chloe gazed up at her friend, wincing a tad, and got to her feet. As Max turned around, Chloe couldn't help, but feel as strange sense of Deja Vu, swearing that the current situation happened before, as she rubbed her forehead lightly and walked inside...

~~~~~~~~~~

It was dark and quiet. Chloe tried to still her breathing as she watched Max struggle for a hiding spot., hearing the footsteps of David come closer. A flash of light was in the room and Max was flat against some lockers. Chloe's heart skipped a beat; Max was going to get caught and there wasn't anything she could do.

Suddenly, Max was illuminated and David's voice was heard- pain! Chloe grabbed her forehead again and winced. She looked over at Max and saw that she was struggling to find a hiding spot. A light came into the room and Max panicked and froze. Chloe panicked, looked at the light, looked over at Max and mouthed the words, "Rewind now!" before David's voice echoed in the room.

Chloe grunted in pain as she gripped her forehead again. Max whispered, "Shh!" to her sharply before disappearing into the shadows. _I'm sorry for the pain, Che_. Chloe quieted herself and watched as a light entered the room. Max dodged the light swiftly as it swept right and left. As she watched her friend, Chloe was left questioning how her friend knew where in the darkness to go without getting caught, immediately jumping to the assumption of her rewind power.

She rubbed her brow and contemplated as David walked past her in the darkness. Moments later, Max grabbed her arm and lead her back towards the pool. Relief flooded Chloe knowing they were safe... that Max was safe...

* * *

"So I dare you to kiss me now," Chloe said with a smile, replacing her want with confidence.

"What?" replied Max, completely taken back. _Why is she asking me to do this?_ Max hesitated at first, looking at her friend. Max never considered her feelings towards Chloe as more then they appeared naturally.

Chloe had Max right where she wanted her. After all that happened with the events that took place, the rewind ability, the headaches and the subtle remarks made, Chloe was almost positive her headaches were connected to Max's power. This small trial was going to prove it. Chloe hoped in the back of her mind that Max would try and kiss her, but she was prepared for Max not too.

As it turns out, unexpectedly, Max's left hand met Chloe's cheek as her right was placed on top of Chloe's shoulder. Reaching upward, standing on her toes, Max leaned in and kissed Chloe on the lips lightly. Chloe, stunned, fell a step or two backwards. They looked at each other, both stunned by the actions of the other.

Chloe put her fingers to her lip and said, "Damn Max, you're hardcore." But before Chloe could say or do anything else, Max reached out with her right arm and used her rewind.

"So Ma- argh!" winced Chloe instantly. Max moved to reach out to her, but Chloe moved Max's hand away gently. "I'm fine, Max." So it was true. Chloe could tell, now. The pain occurring, for no reason out of no where, the sign Chloe needed as proof of Max's rewind. It also meant that Max made a decision that she didn't agree with, which is why she rewound time again. But, Chloe really wanted Max to kiss her and she didn't know if Max had tried already, so she played along and said to Max, "So I dare you to kiss me now."

Max was too concerned for a shocked response. Every time she tried to rewind, it hurt her friend, but this time the choice not to rewind was too difficult to ignore. Kissing Chloe felt nice; felt wonderful. Max had the power to kiss her friend as much as she wanted to without letting Chloe know, ever. That's a hard thing to ignore. _Make a decision, Max. You know you liked the kiss... Fuck it_. Max leaned in again and kissed her friend.

Rewind. Chloe winced again, but Max kissed her again. Max was hardcore.

Rewind. Chloe grunted in pain, but still Max decided to kiss her again. Still, Max was hardcore.

Rewind. Chloe grunted a little harder, and still Max wanted to kiss her again. Chloe still thought Max was hardcore as she hid the pain as best as she could, knowing that in her own way she was kissing Max multiple of times.

Rewind. Chloe braced her forehead. This time, Max refused to kiss her and this took Chloe by surprise. Max shook her head and backed away. Chloe bit her lip, trying to hide the hurt behind the pain in her head and replied, "Just admit you macked on me and used your rewind ability."

Max smirked as Chloe turned and walked off. _Smart-ass, how'd you figure that one?_ After a moment of indecisiveness, Max decided to rewind again.

Rewind. Chloe moaned a little, hand resting on her forehead. Yet, Max kissed her again, with much hesitation.

Rewind. Chloe cursed quietly to her self, grinding her teeth as she watched Max hesitate to kiss her. Max took a moment to consider the situation. _Could I rewind one mre time without hurting her? I doubt it, but I love kissing her._ Max reached in and kissed her again.

Rewind. This time was it, Chloe couldn't take it anymore. "God damn it, Max, fucking stop!"

Max was startled at the outburst. "Stop what?"

"You're nose is hella bleeding, dude! Fuck, how many times are you going to rewind and kiss me?!" Chloe shouted out before she could think about what she said.

"What? How did you-?"

Chloe rubbed her head again. "It's the headaches, Max," she shouted, "It hurts helle worse every time."

Max grew frustrated and slightly embarrassed, "Damn it, Chloe you're an asshole... So you picked up on that?... You knew all along and I just... I just kept..." Max looked down and hid her face from view.

Chloe looked at her friend who now looked so embarrassed, and Chloe smiled. She walked over to Max, tilted her chin upwards to meet eyes and said in the softest of tones, "If you wanted to kiss me, Maxipad, you could have just asked."

Max looked at her unexpectedly and began, "Chloe-" but she was interrupted by Chloe's lips. Their kiss was soft and simple, almost lovely and romantic. It lasted a moment before Chloe pulled back and looked into Max's eyes. Max looked at her friend and asked, "What's wrong, Che?"

Chloe shrugged and asked, "Do you think... you could rewind one more time? This time, can you ask me to give you a... 'Chloe' kiss?"

Max smiled and asked, "What does that mean?"

"A hella bad ass kiss from yours truly," Chloe said. Max chuckled at her friend. She went to rewind, but hesitated looking at Chloe's head. Noticing, Chloe shook her head and gave Max the signal to go ahead.

Max rewound time again. Chloe grunted heavily in response. Max went up to her and whispered, "I'm sorry," in her friends ear. Chloe was a bit taken back by that, not sure what to think as it wasn't the answer to her question. Max smiled, looked at her friend and asked, "Can I... get a 'Chloe' kiss?"

Chloe was taken back at first, not sure how to respond when she rubbed her forehead and it dawned on her. Her head hurt. Max rewind time and... requested a kiss? Did Max kiss her before? Did Chloe ask Max to ask for a kiss? Eventually, Chloe put her hands on either side of Max's face and planted a rough and needing kiss on Max's lips.

When they pulled away, Max smiled at Chloe who smirked and asked, "Didn't you get enough kisses before?"

"What do you mean?" Max asked.

Chloe laughed, "You're nose is still bleeding, Maxipad. Damn, how many kisses did you get outta that?"

Max touched her nose and felt the blood. She laughed and shouted at her friend, "Chloe! You are such a dork!"

 **Author's Notes:**

This is one of two fictions that I've written in a few days after a 3 year hiatus of writing. I hope it's ok and I hope you like it, but I understand if you don't. Thank you for reading!


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